Substance Abuse Prevention

Tobacco Abuse Prevention Facts

The following fact sheets (pdfs) are available for downloading:

Tuolumne County Healthy Store Healthy Community Fact Sheet (pdf) – “The Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community campaign is a statewide collaboration between tobacco use prevention, nutrition and alcohol prevention partners. The goal is to improve the health of Californians through changes in community stores and to educate people how in-store product marketing influences consumption of unhealthy products. Working together, we can make our community a healthier place and maintain a vibrant business community.” (Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community, Tuolumne County)

Tobacco Harm To Kids (pdf) – “More than 3.5 million middle and high school students still smoke. Nationwide, more than one in seven high school students (grades 9-12) are current smokers, and 4.5 percent of eighth graders currently smoke. In addition, U.S. high school boys now smoke cigars at the same rate as cigarettes (16.5% for cigars and 16.4% for cigarettes, nationally), and cigar smoking by high school boys equals or surpasses cigarette smoking in more than 20 states.4,5 14.7 percent of U.S. high school boys (and 2.9% of high school girls) are current smokeless or spit tobacco users. In some states, spit tobacco and cigar use among high school males is much higher than the national rate.” (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids)

Smoking and Kids (pdf) – “Each day, more than 2,800 kids in the United States try their first cigarette; and another 700 additional kids under 18 years of age become new regular, daily smokers. That’s more than 250,000 new underage daily smokers in this country each year.” (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids)

Tips for Teens Tobacco (pdf) – “Tobacco — cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and snuff — damages your health. Smoking, which is the most common cause of lung cancer, is also a leading cause of cancer of the mouth, throat, bladder, pancreas, and kidneys. Over 8 percent—2.2 million—youths aged 12 to 17 used a tobacco product in the past month. Smokeless tobacco contains 28 ingredients that can cause cancer in your lips, tongue, cheeks, gums, and the top and bottom of your mouth.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children’s Bureau)

Smoking and Other Drug Use (pdf) – “Teen smoking is an early warning sign for additional substance abuse problems. Youths age 12-17 who smoke are more than 11 times as likely to use illicit drugs and 16 times as likely to drink heavily as youths who do not smoke. As the U.S. Supreme Court noted in 1962, “The first step toward addiction may be as innocent as a boy’s puff on a cigarette in an alleyway.” (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids)

Smokeless Tobacco and Kids (pdf) – “Since 1970, smokeless tobacco has gone from a product used primarily by older men to one used predominantly by young men and boys. This trend has occurred as smokeless tobacco promotions have increased dramatically and a new generation of smokeless tobacco products has hit the market. Far from being a “safe” alternative to cigarette smoking, smokeless tobacco use causes cancer and increases the risk of developing other health problems, including nicotine addiction and the potential to move on to combustible tobacco products.” (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids)

Path to Tobacco Start at Very Young Ages (pdf) – “Lifetime smoking and other tobacco use almost always begins by the time kids graduate from high school. Young kids’ naïve experimentation frequently develops into regular smoking, which typically turns into a strong addiction—well before the age of 18—that can overpower the most well-intentioned efforts to quit. Any efforts to decrease future tobacco use levels among high school students, college-aged youths or adults must include a focus on reducing experimentation and regular tobacco use among teenagers and pre-teens.” (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids)